Eustis house helps homeless veterans get on their feet

EUSTIS — They survived battlefields overseas, but came home to struggle with their psychological and emotional scars. They drowned their anger with alcohol and broke away from their families, living on the street or camping in the woods.

But these six men now have a home and hope, thanks to the Veterans Organization of Resource & Recovery for the Homeless, a nonprofit group co-founded by fellow veteran Lloyd Thorne.

Living together at a Grove Street house, the veterans also get help in their recovery and in applying for their benefits.

"Without Lloyd Thorne giving us a place to call home, where would I be? I'd probably be dead," said Justin Herndon, a 29-year-old Ocala native.

Coinciding with their own struggles are the challenges the organization has faced in operating the home.

Thorne started reaching out to homeless veterans in 2009 and after two years, he and the group's assistant director, Helen Shaut, opened transitional housing for them. But they weren't prepared for the government regulations necessary for a home.

City inspectors require the group to upgrade its fire alarm and sprinkler systems according to national fire-safety codes, said Dianne Kramer, city director of development services. The group must get a business tax license, though there is no fee because the group is nonprofit. The city also temporarily closed the group's thrift store at 1614 S. Bay St., a key source of income, because of the lack of a public bathroom.

"We're new to regulations and city codes and we don't have an attorney onboard," Thorne said. "But they've been accommodating and have given us time frames to get what we need."

With enough donations and volunteer help, the group hopes to complete the costly safety requirements. A sprinkler system will cost $50,000 and a new fire alarm will cost $3,000, but Thorne said a local Home Depot has offered to cover the materials if volunteers install it.

Also, a contractor is giving his time and expertise to fix the thrift-store bathroom, also with donated materials, he said. Kramer said the veterans can live at the home while the upgrades are made over the next six months. "They run a good operation and there have been no neighborhood complaints," she said. "We're just concerned with the safety requirements."

Donations and volunteer help have been vital for the group, which hopes to reintegrate homeless veterans back into society.

Norman Peterson, an Air Force veteran who fought in Vietnam, is the group's first success story. He has gotten help with getting his benefits and Social Security disability and has reconnected with his three children and two grandchildren.

"It's given me hope and more self esteem," he said. "I can't thank Helen and Lloyd enough for letting me be a part of this.